1. Technical Field
This invention relates to molding assemblies, and more particularly to a molding apparatus having a hanger member and a decorative insert member adapted to be secured to the hanger member without the use of independent fastening elements, to thereby form an easily installable molding assembly for a residential or commercial building.
2. Discussion
On buildings it is often desirable to include some form of decorative molding along the interior of a room of the building or along an exterior of the building where a vertical wall and soffit adjoin. Traditionally, such moldings have been manufactured from wood or urethane foam and secured either to interior corners of a room or along an exterior of a home or building by the use of nails, staples, etc. This method of attaching molding, as well as the materials required to make the molding, has several drawbacks. For one, moldings manufactured from wood or urethane have become extremely expensive due to the increasing cost of these materials. Secondly, since the moldings have traditionally been secured via nails or staples, the added step of patching over nail holes with putty, sanding, and painting or staining has represented a significant cost in terms of labor and the time required to install such moldings. Lastly, traditional interior and exterior architectural decorative moldings manufactured from wood are subject to shrinkage, warping and splitting which can give rise to significant maintenance costs when such moldings are secured to the exterior of a residential dwelling or commercial building.
In some applications, it would also be desirable to removably secure a molding insert member at both its upper and lower edges to a hanger member, where the hanger member has been previously secured to a wall portion. Such an attachment of the molding insert member would even further resist environmental factors which might cause detachment of the molding insert member.
In view of the above, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a molding assembly having a track member which may be secured to an interior or exterior wall and an independent, decorative molding insert member which may be quickly and easily secured to the hanger member at both its upper and lower edge portions to thereby even more securely affix the molding member to the wall, and without the need for independent fastening elements to secure the molding member to the hanger member.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a molding assembly having a hanger member and an independent, decorative molding insert member in which the insert member can be engaged via a snap fit within a pair of spaced apart channels of the hanger member to cause the insert member to be supported along both its upper and lower edges, to thereby further improve the degree to which the insert member is secured to the hanger member.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a track member which may be extruded from a thermoplastic and a decorative molding insert member which may be injection molded or vacuum formed from a thermoplastic to provide a relatively low cost, high quality appearance molding assembly providing the appearance of hardwood molding.
The above and other objects are provided by a molding apparatus and method in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention. The apparatus of the present invention generally includes a hanger member adapted to be fixedly secured to an interior or exterior wall. The hanger member includes a first channel and a second channel spaced apart from the first channel. An insert member in the form of a decorative molding insert member has a first portion which is engageable within the first channel and a second portion spaced apart from the first portion which is engageable within the second channel, to thus enable the molding member to be supported at two-spaced apart locations by the hanger member.
In a preferred embodiment the hanger member includes a back member having an integrally formed lower J-channel which forms the first channel and an integrally formed upper lip member which forms the second channel. The back member preferably includes a plurality of apertures for allowing it to be secured via conventional nails, threaded screws or the like to the wall. The lower J-channel and the upper lip member are both at least slightly flexible to enable the molding insert member to be inserted into the first and second channels with a minimum degree of force, but yet held securely to the hanger member once inserted and coupled to the hanger member.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper lip member of the insert member includes an inner lip member and an outer lip member which form the second channel. In this embodiment the hanger member includes a lower J-channel which accepts a lower edge portion of the molding insert member. The upper lip member is adapted to engage an upper L-shaped portion of the molding insert member. The molding insert member is thus secured at both its upper and lower portions to the hanger member without the use of independent fastening elements such as nails, staples, threaded screws or the like.
A preferred method of the present invention comprises securing a hanger member having a first channel and a second channel spaced apart from the first channel to an interior or exterior wall. An independent molding insert member having a first edge portion and a second edge portion spaced apart from the first edge portion is then positioned such that the first edge portion is placed within the first channel of the track member. A force is then exerted against the insert member such that the first channel is moved slightly away from the second channel. While the insert member is held with the first channel urged slightly away from the second channel, the insert member is rotated such that the second edge portion is urged into the second channel. The pressure on the molding member is then released which causes the first channel and the molding member to be urged slightly towards the second channel, thus causing the molding member to become engaged within the second channel and held securely within the first and second channels.
In an alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention the decorative molding insert member includes an edge protruding lip which is adapted to extend underneath an adjacent insert member secured to the same hanger member. In this manner, when adjacently positioned insert members secured to the sane hanger member are positioned abuttingly against one another, a more continuous-appearing insert member is formed.
In another alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention a molding assembly is provided which includes an end cover adapted to close-off a terminal end of a molding insert when the terminal end does not abut a perpendicularly extending wall portion, and would therefore be exposed to view. The end cover is adapted to be snappingly engaged to a hanger member such that when secured to the hanger member, a portion of the end cover extends rearwardly into abutting contact, or at least close to abutting contact, with the wall portion to which the hanger member is secured. In this manner, the terminal end of the molding assembly is closed-off to present a more decorative and finished appearance where no perpendicular wall extends close to the terminal end portion of the molding assembly.
In yet another alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention, a molding assembly having an end cap is disclosed where the end cap includes a shoulder portion adapted to engage within a notch formed in a hanger member of the molding assembly. The end cover closes-off the terminal end of the molding assembly where no perpendicularly extending wall portion is present at the terminal end of the molding assembly. The shoulder portion and notch cooperate when the end cover is secured to the hanger member of the molding assembly to prevent the end cover from being slidably forced off of the hanger by thermal expansion or other factors. Accordingly, once the end cover is secured to the hanger member and cannot be slidably removed from the hanger member, it must be disengaged by manually urging it outwardly of the hanger member in a fashion opposite to the manner in which it is installed on the hanger member.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention thus provide a molding assembly which securely supports a decorative molding member at two edges thereof to even more securely position a molding insert member along the corner of an interior or exterior wall. In one preferred embodiment, the track member of the molding apparatus is extruded from a plastic, while the molding member is injection molded or vacuum formed from a thermoplastic. The molding assembly thus forms a relatively low cost apparatus which provides the appearance of a hardwood molding, but without the drawbacks associated with the use of real wood or urethane foam and the added complexity of installation of previously developed plastic molding assemblies.